Wonder x Balance
by bergamoutorange
Summary: Being a student and a hunter can be difficult, but if one balances the two, their lives will be full of wonder. Watch as a nervous wreck of a temp hunter and a money loving hunter form friendships, endure hardships, complete jobs, and help each other out to reach their goals. There will be laughter, tears, anger, and smiles. Won't you join them? (LeorioxOC) (Implied Shounen-ai)
1. Lacking grace so I dine with a hippo

A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you like this silly episodic story of mine which will be based around on the life of a temp hunter (OC), other hunters (like Hanzo), and what Leorio's been doing before and after the events of the Yorknew arc. The story will also merge with later arcs of the manga/anime as well but that will be in the later chapters. The story will have action, drama, fireworks, comedy, broships (imagine Gon and Killua frolicking on the shore while running away from Hisoka), and budding romance for many hunters including OC and Leorio. Did I mention fireworks? Because there will not be any fireworks, sorry I lied ^^;

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter or any songs that will be used in the story. Artwork used for the cover is drawn by Sawasawa.

Opening: Flat by livetune adding Yuki Ozaki (from Galileo Galilei)

Ending : Horsey by Macross 82-89 feat. Sarah Bonito

* * *

_"Once upon a time there was a prince who died. He fell in love with a young woman who was cursed by a evil wizard. Determined to prove his love to the woman, he went off to battle the sorcerer."_

Inside of a small cottage, an old woman who goes by the name of Clara, was reading a fairy tale to a group of kids. She carefully flipped the pages of the book and showed the children the beautiful illustrations of the tale. As she flipped the pages, the illustrations popped up and reenacted the scenes from the story. The kids were amazed by the sorcery and begged her to continue with the tale. However she could not continue with the story, the book she held in her wrinkly hands was incomplete.

Clara smiled softly and shook her head, "We'll continue the story another day children. Now run along, Sorceress Clara has to tidy up this place for a guest. "

"Awww!" The kids yelled with disappointment and ran outside of the library.

As they ran off to town, the children waved goodbye to Clara and she went off to sweeping the dust off her doorstep. The cottage resided on a meadow which consisted of a creek with a water wheel to generate power for the library. The people who visited Clara's home mentioned how peaceful and serene it is. Some even believed that she had tiny animals clean and cook for her, but that was just a myth. However underneath the sugary fairy tale atmosphere lied a dark secret that no normal being could understand. The cottage may be small but the cellar was huge and heavily stocked with books and file cabinets filled with records. These records and books held many secrets that only a few Hunters can have access to. Records that contained many mysteries of ancient times and books that are filled with knowledge that some died from finding them or even read them. To this day, the underground library is slowly being updated and Clara patiently waits for the day that the library is fully complete.

Clara closed the door and continued to clean the place from head to toe. When her parents died, she was given ownership to the place and kept everything maintained throughout her life. Despite having a few minor back pains, she was still active and would refuse anyone's offer of buying her groceries or clean the place for her. As she mopped the floor, she heard a sound coming from the floor board under her rocking chair.

"Knock!" "Knock!"

She moved the rocking chair and on the floor was a keyhole that lead to the underground library. She took out a key from her white apron's pocket and unlocked the basement door. As the door unlocked, the floorboard was flipped opened by a nineteen year old girl with Egyptian blue hair.

The girl brushed off the cobwebs from her wavy hair and coughed out dust, "My apologies Clara-sama! When I was alphabetizing the horror section, I lost the spare key and I didn't want to interrupt you when you were reading to the kids."

She lightly bonked the girl on the head, "It's alright Cider but please just call me Clara."

"Oh it wouldn't seem right for me to call you that Clara-sama," Cider chirped, "I mean you're the owner of the Mystiker Library and many hunters respect you, so I should show you my respect by cleaning the floors and take out the dirt from the shin-"

"Cider, I only requested someone to clean the Mystiker Library, not give my home a scrub down, and please call me Clara-san."

"Oh...ok then Clara-san." Cider agreed and continued to clean off the dust from her clothes.

As she dusted off the remaining crud from her clothes, Cider watched as Clara mopped the floor and noticed her movements. The gracefulness and elegance that Clara emitted from her movements made Cider's heart flutter. Memories start to resurface from Cider's mind but she proceeded to repress them in the back of her head. She felt that opening her box of broken memories at this time was inappropriate and she had a feeling that Clara thinks of her as a weirdo who has a weird kink for older women mopping floors. Clara on the other hand didn't mind the young girl staring, it reminded her of her younger days and unlike Cider's memories, hers' were pleasant.

Clara smiled softly and dipped her mop in the bucket of water, "So do you have another job after this?"

Cider snapped out of her trance and smiled, "No this is the last job for today which will make things easier for me since tonight is my first night class at the university. Although I have a feeling I might get slapped with another job application from the boss men tonight, since they have a thing for inconveniencing the temps."

"Look at the bright side at least the Hunter Association is treating you temps like Hunters." Clara chuckled and continued to mop the floor, "But if you don't mind me asking, where are you studying?"

"Schädel University."

"That's a very good school that you got in there, congrats." She said as she scrubbed the oak floors, "Come to think of it, I've heard that another Hunter is studying there also."

Before Cider could say anything, her cell phone's alarm went off, notifying her that she has three hours till her classes start. As she was about to run to get her things from the clothes' rack, she slipped on Clara's newly mopped floor which sent her off flying. As Cider slipped off the floor, Clara gasped in shock and her blue eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her sockets. However when Cider's hands touched the floor, she motioned herself to land safely on the ground. Clara watched her movements and believed that the temp hunter will land gracefully on her feet. However that belief was short lived, Cider landed on her butt which made her cringe in pain. This made Cider feel embarrassed about herself, she wanted to land gracefully like a skilled hunter should, but the way that she fell convinced her that she might land on her feet incorrectly and she didn't want that to happen, not again.

"Argh my butt." She yelped in pain.

As Cider rubbed the pain away from her buttocks, Clara smiled sheepishly and grabbed Cider's things off the clothes rack. She handed Cider her light brown jacket and her satchel filled with textbooks. The smile that the elegant librarian had made Cider cringe a bit, she felt like she's being eaten alive by that smile. However as she handed the satchel, a pair of ballet slippers fell out of the bag and that caught Clara's attention. Cider's face flushed beet red and she quickly grabbed the slippers away from the librarian's hands and dashed out of the cottage.

"It's nice talking to you Clara-san! I hope we can have tea together someday!" She shouted nervously as she ran off to town.

After running a good distance, Cider stopped near an huge oak tree and sighed with grimace. A cool breeze gently caressed her body and she looked up at the sky that was now a bright orange color. When the cool breeze hit her, a soft smile formed on her face but it slowly faded into a slight frown. She gazed back at the cottage which looked like a perfect size for a small mouse from her distance. She felt bad for just running out of Clara's place but the embarrassment got the best of her. However this wasn't the first time she ran off from a client and a bunch of hunters from the association knew about her cold feet antics.

She snapped out her trance, 'No use looking back at what's already happened but why do I keep remembering my mistakes?'

Cider continued her walk to her school by following the man made dirt pathway which leads to town, Waldhalle. As she began to walk, she noticed a worn out carving on the oak's trunk, she couldn't read the initials but she knew it was something about a couple due to the poorly shaped heart.

'That tree is going to outlive us one day.' She thought jokingly.

* * *

In the bustling town of Waldhalle, the street vendors begin to pack their things and were about to head home. The town was known by its wonderful architecture, their luxury items, and being a popular hot spot for couples. Waldhalle was also known for its schools and being one of the best places for people and hunters to craft their skills. However it's advised by many tourist, townspeople, and journalists to be weary of your wallet if you come to the town. The luxurious and whimsical aura of the town can put a gaping hole in your wallet which will set you back with twenty years of debt.

"So how about it Miss? This dress is made by the silk of the famous Shirukufly and it is said that wearing this will make any man fall in love with you." A black bearded man announced with a huge grin exposing his golden teeth.

Cider grinned nervously and slowly backed away, "N-no thank you sir, I can't afford it. Besides, that dress is best suited for a princess, a millionaire's beautiful wife, or the millionaire's mistress. "

The street vendor stroked his beard and continued his business with another set of tourist who will probably be suckered into buying his dress. Cider continued to walk down the cobblestone streets and headed inside to the closest cafe she can afford. She looked at her phone's clock and sighed in relief, she still had enough time to grab something to eat. As she entered the cafe, a light browned hair girl dressed in maid attire smiled cutely at Cider.

"Welcome~! Is it only you for today?" She asked cutely.

Cider nodded lightly and the waitress guided her to one of the booths. The interior of the cafe was a mixture of old fashion and modern, the interior was mostly modern but the walls were decorated with antique paintings and the booths were decorated with frilly doilies. Few minutes later, Cider was sitting in one of the booths with an unwanted guest, an over sized hippo plush animal. The cafe that she went into was known for putting stuff animals for those who were eating alone. Apparently, this method is suppose to make the customer less lonely but to her, it made things more awkward and kind of sad. A family who was sitting on the opposite side saw this and the kids couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"Mommy! Mommy I want that hippo!" The golden haired boy pleaded with glee.

"We'll get you one later dear." The boy's mom answered in a hush tone.

Cider gave out an awkward giggle and waved at the little boy. She went to back to waiting for her lunch and poured herself a cup of tea. She took a sip of the warm bitter liquid and looked at the glass of water that was beside the teapot. The glass of water made her remember the nen training that was given to her along with the other temp hunters. Nen usage was a minimal requirement for all hunters but for those who were applying for being temps, it is heavily recommended to know how to use nen if the person wants bigger pay. Cider moved the glass of cold water away from the warm teapot. As she continued to wait for her food, she sat back on the cushioned seat and bonked the back of someone's head. A loud clanking noise and a girl's shriek emitted from the booth that was behind Ciders' which made her sweat nervously.

"Ow hot hot hot!" grunted The stuffed hippo.

'I wish that it was coming from the hippo right about now.' She thought to herself.

"Are you alright sir?!" A waitress asked worriedly.

The person behind Cider stood up from his booth and she suddenly felt uneasy. She didn't want to turn around and see the damage, she wanted to run out of the cafe before things start to turn ugly for her. However deep in her heart, she knew that she can't always run away from her mistakes and for all she knew, all she did was probably make the guy spill hot water on his crouch. The least she can do was pay for the guy's lunch and give a long but polite apology for causing him trouble. Sure he might still be mad but he should look at the bright side, someone is going to pay him for his lunch.

Cider got out of her seat and stood straight in front of the stranger, 'Ok Cider just like what that youth and beauty hunter taught you. Give out one of your best smiles and apologize with all your h- OH GOD WHY!?'

Before she could flash a sincere smile, she noticed the damage she caused on the poor guy and tried not to overreact. His dark blue suit pants was now stained with hot tea and his head along with his suit covered shoulders was covered in vanilla cream, cookie crumbs, various sort of fruits, and a mint leaf on top of his spiky black hair. The guy had his eyes closed and he was whipping the cream off his tea shade sunglasses. He was grumbling about something and he suddenly heard a loud thud on the ground. The waitress slowly backed away as Cider went on all fours and proceeded to bow for forgiveness. She also held back her laughter from seeing the damage and the tears for what she had done.

"I apologize for what I have done sir! I didn't mean to make you drop that delicious looking parfait on yourself and spill scorching hot water on your groin. In order to prove my forgiveness, I'll pay for your lunch and even pay your dry cleaning. Again I am so sorry sir!" Cider declared in one breath.

"Since you're willing to pay for my lunch and dry cleaning, I'll forgive ya. But can you not call me sir, you're making me feel old." The guy replied as he squat down and noticed droplets of water on the floor.


	2. Tom's Diner

A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you will enjoy the second chapter of Wonder x Balance. The first few chapters are slow but slow steady beats the race. Parfaits are awesome to eat, but not fun if you got it slathered all over your head and shoulders xP. Hopefully the parfait guy isn't too mad.

Disclaimer: I do not own any songs used for the chapters or Hunter x Hunter.

Songs: -Title of the chapter: Tom's Diner by Susanne Vega

-Song for the cafe: Pala Paya (Young Readymade Golden Nighters A-Go Go Mix) from Space Channel 5 Uki Uki Non Stop Remix soundtrack.

Notes: *- Currency is equivalent to $671.50

* * *

"Yeah I just arrived at the station. Who would've thought that the handsome doctor, Leorio Paradinight, got accepted to Schadel and will now be living in one of the most luxurious towns known as Waldhalle?!"

Inside of a train cart, a young man in a dark blue suit was talking loudly on his phone, happily telling his friend that he got accepted to one his dream schools. All that studying, crying, loitering, drinking, jacking off, and flirting with sleazy women he did for the last three months paid off. He was so happy that he called one of his closest friends and gloat on his success. The passengers on the other hand weren't too keen on the loser's antics, a bunch of them moved into the other train cart to get some peace and quiet. Ten minutes later, the guy finally got off his cell phone and noticed that most of the passengers left the train, except for a few people who were patient enough to wait for the guy to stop jabbering. The train slowly goes to a stop and a bell chime from the train's intercoms echoed throughout the carts.

_"Now arriving at Muller Station." _A computer voice calmly announced to the passengers.

As the train doors slid open, a huge number of people enter the train which almost made the suited loser drop his cell phone. Unfortunately his cell phone did slip out of his fingers and it slid into the huge crowd of standing passengers. He had a decision, get his cell phone and unwillingly let someone steal his seat or wait till the group dies out. Before he can get off his seat to retrieve his mobile, an arm extended out of the sea of people and gave it back to him. He noticed that the hand was wrapped in bandages and wondered if the person had injured their hand.

"Uhm excuse me sir or m'am I think you dropped your phone. I can't really see you but I hope you can hear me and see my hand that's holding your cell phone. I'm not going to steal it, I just want to return it to you." A nervous voice murmured from the crowd.

He wanted to get a good look at the person but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack made of humans. Judging from the voice, it was a female who was probably about the same age as him, but she sounded very scared or if not timid. But judging with what she said to him, she means well, even though she's rambling about finding his cell phone and declaring herself that she's not a thief. As he grabbed his cell phone, the stranger pulled back her arm away and stopped talking. The train suddenly went to another stop and the bell chimed again throughout the cat.

_"Now arriving at Waldhalle Station."_ The computer voice calmly announced to the passengers again.

'This is my stop.' Leorio thought with a smile.

* * *

Back at the cafe, Cider and the blue suited fellow were sitting together at the singles booth. The two were sitting in opposite sides and right beside them were their stuff animal guests. She sat next to the bulbous stuffed pink hippo from her booth while he sat next to an over sized fluffy yellow bird. Cider's eyes were slightly red from crying earlier and she couldn't help but feel horrible for causing a scene. Her emotions got the best of her and now she's believes that the waitress is giggling behind her back and the guy probably feels bad for her and he's just acting nice for her. She wanted to leave the guy in peace but he convinced her on having dinner with him and her stomach agreed loudly. Not only that, she doesn't want to miss her first day of class; it was too important for her to skip. Since she couldn't disagree with her stomach and her desire to go to school, she admitted defeat and agreed on being the guy's awkward dinner guest.

As they continued to wait for the food, the guy flashed a wide smile at her in hopes of cheering her up. But once she smiled, the guy couldn't help but laugh at the sight and an awkward laugh escaped from Cider's contorted face. Finally, the waitress arrived with two plates of food; a steak with vegetable medley both grilled to perfection and the other plate was a creamy clam chowder in a warm sour-dough bowl which came with a small garden variety salad.

The waitress flashed a cute smile to the two, "Enjoy! And this one is the house guys. So eat up!"

She placed an expensive looking wine bottle in the center of the table along with the plates of food. When the guy saw his meal in front of him, his brown eyes sparkled with delight and started to devour his dinner. The pig tailed waitress couldn't help but giggle at the sight and then she turned to Cider. She gave a reassuring wink to her as a way of telling the nervous girl that everything's okay. A soft smile of relief formed on Cider's face and she slowly began to eat her food. Once the waitress left, Cider started to wolf down on her salad and quickly poured herself a cup of red wine. It's been hours since she last ate and she didn't care if she was eating her food like a rabid dog. Suddenly she heard someone gagging loudly and noticed the guy was motioning her to pour him a drink. She did so and handed him the glass filled with burgundy red liquid.

He took a huge gulp and let out a huge sigh of satisfaction, "Huegh that hit the spot!"

"If you want I can order another bottle if you like." Cider mumbled with a mouth full of salad.

"Hm?" The guy's smile quickly disappeared and he looked straight into Cider's eye, "Are you sure about that?" He asked in a concern tone.

Cider swallowed the food in her mouth and grabbed her wine cup, "Yes I'm sure. Since I'm a hunter this isn't too bad for my wallet and-"

"Wait you're a hunter?" He asked in shock.

She nodded and took a sip of her drink, "I know I don't look like the everyday seasoned hunter but I am one."

A grin formed on his face and he stretched out his hand towards the girl, "Nice to meet another hunter here in Waldhalle. Names Leorio Paradinight, what's yours?"

She placed the wine cup down and firmly grabbed his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you Leorio-sama, I'm Cider Meiming."

As she placed the wine cup on the table, Leorio noticed that the cup was about to overflow with fermented grape juice. He had a feeling that it was something about him saying that he's a hunter and that made her even more anxious than before. She pulled her hand away from Leorio's grasp and went back to eating her meal. His mind then started to wonder, how on earth did this girl become a hunter and why the overly polite speech just now? Then out of the blue, he saw Cider wincing a bit as she takes a sip of her soup.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked in concern.

"Huh? Oh no sir, I just have a cut in my mouth from my job earlier today, but you shouldn't be concern of me. Also I apologize for disturbing your dinner sir, but I will leave you alone as soon as I finish my food."

"Stop calling me sir," he interrupted in a frank tone, "You're making me sound like I'm an ornery old man."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel old." she said as she sipped her soup, "I tend to talk like this toward other hunters but it's just a way of me showing respect to them."

"I get it if you're talking to the higher ups but you do realize that I'm a rookie right?"

Her light brown eyes widened a bit from the response, "R-really? But you look like you've been with the association for a long time."

When Leorio heard that, he grumbled a bit and memories of his time in the hunter exam appeared in his mind. He remembered the time where he told his newly made companions at the exam that he's a teenager and no one almost believed him. Even to this day, a lot of people and the girls that he once flirted with are convinced he's a thirty year old and he always finds himself trying to convince them that he's actually in his twenties.

'Great another girl thinks of me as some geezer. ' He thought heavily.

Cider noticed the troubled aura around Leorio and tried to reassure him, "What I really meant is you look like you know what you're doing!"

Leorio looked up with eyes full of hope, "Really? You don't think I look like an old man?"

"Not at all." She answered with an honest smile and checked the time on her cell phone.

"Then do you think I'm handsome?" He asked happily.

The stuffed hippo shouted, "CHECK PLEASE!"

When he saw that the stuff hippo replaced Cider, he jumped back a little causing the wine bottle to tip over on top of the yellow stuff bird beside him. He grabbed a clean napkin from the table and started to wipe the wine off the bird's feathers.

'I should have known that girl was a flake and probably lied about being a hunter,' Leorio grumbled, "Have a feeling she left me the bill.'

As he continued to clean the stuff animal, he saw that there was a check in the hippo's mouth. Once he got off his seat, he noticed a set of ballet slippers near the seat that his dinner guest sat at. At that moment, he took back his negative thought on the blue haired hunter being a lying flake.

* * *

"Alright that'll be *500 Merty." The pig tailed waitress said to Cider sweetly.

She handed the waitress the money and quietly went outside of the cafe. The skies were now dark blue and the streets were illuminated by the lights from the buildings and the lamp posts. Cider gave out a heavy sigh, her habit of running off got the best of her again and all she can do now is just go to school with her head down in shame. This is probably the worst and the last dinner date she ever had in her whole life.

'I have a feeling he thinks of me as a loser.'

Cider double checked the time on her cell phone and noticed that she had thirty minutes left before the classes start. As she walked away from the cafe, she heard someone calling out her name and she turned around. There she saw Leorio in his parfait stained covered suit jacket running toward her.

"You forgot these." He handed her the slippers, "Would be terrible if you went to a dance class without your equipment. You're lucky that I'm nice enough to give it to ya."

She couldn't believe it, she almost went to ballet class without her slippers and that would have been the worst impression for the first day.

"Thank you so much!" Cider shouted happily, "By any chance did you find the check for your dry cleaning?"

"Yeah about that," Leorio handed back the check to her, "Keep it."

"But-"

He cuts her off again, "You still owe me but I don't think money is going to solve this issue of ours. I'll think of something else that you can do for me but in the mean time, see ya around Cider."

Leorio rose up his forearm and waved goodbye to her and headed off in the opposite direction of town. Cider stood there, stunned by what just happened and a smile began to form on her face. For some strange reason, the dinner date she believed was the worst is now one of the most interesting moments of her life so far. As she continued to head off to the university, she stopped and think back on what Leorio said.

'But what can I do to make it up for him? I'm not really good at anything...' She thought worryingly.


	3. Cafe Nostalgia

A/N: Hello guys, here's the third chapter of Wonder x Balance and I hope you enjoy it. This chapter we finally see what Cider was doing in the Mystiker Library and Leorio's first day at the university. The two go on a dinner date and it isn't the most bomb-diggity moment they've experienced in their hot, young lives. Leorio is thinking of something that Cider can do for him, but what could it be? There's a saying that if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But in some cases, it's best that you throw them and shout out "I hate lemons!".

Disclaimer: I do not own any songs used for the story, references, or Hunter x Hunter.

Songs: Title of the chapter: Cafe Nostalgia by Capo Blanco

-Cleaning the library: Gentle Mind from Cromartie High School OST

-Getting pumped up or intimidated by nen: Mystic Island from Hunter x Hunter OST 1

-Remembering friends and running to school- Hoshi ga Dossari na Yoru from Cromartie High School OST 2

-Figuring out what to do: Africa Karinba from Cromartie High School OST

-Congrats, you figured it out: ハンター パレード from Hunter x Hunter OST 1

Notes: *-Drinking fluids that contain electrolytes is a good remedy for hangovers.

* * *

Beneath Clara's cottage was Mystiker Library, the best place for Hunters to find ancient books and records, as well as storing their own discoveries on its shelves. When Clara's parents first moved to Waldhalle, they discovered that the cottage had a huge wine cellar. Seeing that Clara's father was a Knowledge Hunter, he decided that he would make the cellar a library for other Hunters to use. While it is accessible for most, there is one section that only double or triple star Hunters have access to. That area is known as the Blacklist Section; which it contains confidential records and cursed books that cannot are not to be seen by a normal person or a one star Hunter. It is also noted by the association that from time to time, a hunter from the agency must give the library an annual clean up. But little do people know, the place is now and forever riddled with cockroach-rat hybrids called "Ratroaches". Due to putting their origins stem from the Mystiker library having been built underground, and placing a cursed book near a rat and cockroach nest. They not only look horrifying but they can rip the limbs off a poor, unsuspecting hunter. It should also be noted that Clara's father had died from the first infestation of the ratroaches, leaving his wife to mourn for his death and his daughter fatherless.

"Ok, Curling by Tomie Gyo should be put...here. Oops!"

Cider accidentally dropped the horror book in hand. It landed face down on top of a poor, defenseless mouse. As she picked up the book off the rodent, she let out a horrifying squeal and to see the mouse's body had twisted much like a pretzel. Startled, the mouse scuttled away from her, proving that it was very much still alive and breathing. She grabbed the book off the ground and violently shoved it onto the shelves. Just as the book was stowed in its rightful place, a swarm of tiny black spiders crawled out of the crevices of the shelf and some of them started crawled on Cider's arm. Her voice echoed throughout the cellar as she shrieked like a banshee.

'Why does this have to be the only temp job available in Waldhalle?!' She thought in horror.

Once she shook the last remaining spider off her arm, Cider went over to the cart and checked if there were any books that need to be put back. Noticing there's no more books, she took out a list from her khaki pants' pocket and started to write something on it.

_To do list for the Mystiker Library:_

_1) Clean the floors and shelves- check_

_2) Organize all the files and records in the Ancient Texts and History section- check_

_3) Document the records of past hunters who gained access to the library- check_

_4) Check for damages of previously borrowed books and return them to their sections- check but might need to put the Curling back on the cart and request for an nen exorcist back at the agency._

_5) Eradicate the yearly ratroaches nest, which is currently located between the Sci-Fi and Biology section._

When she read the last task, she heard herself scream internally and her pupils shrank from the unwanted adrenaline flowing through her blood. The nest was one section away from her and she can already hear the hideous hissing coming from behind the book shelf. If she makes one mistake in destroying the nest, it's the not the ratroaches that's going to kill her it's the Temp Hunters' division that will have her head on a silver platter. Knowing it's not the time to wallow in fear of screwing up, Cider calms herself by letting out a few breaths and slowly walked out of the horror section. There she rolled up her yellow shirt blouse and exposed her forearms that were covered in bandages.

She stared at her bandaged hands, 'Ok it's already been three weeks and the injuries should have healed. Hopefully it won't end like last time...'

As she unraveled the dressings a smile of relief appeared on her face, her arms can finally move freely in the air and there is no sign of internal injury. She bravely walked over to the next library shelf, only to find something that looked like it came from one of the library's books. At the very end of the section was the notorious ratroaches nest and it was a sight to ignore. The nest was the size of a gigantic soccer ball and consisted of clear yellow slime which was covered with tiny specks of black fur. Those tiny specks were the babies, luckily for Cider, they have not yet molted into their adult forms which makes the job a little easier. She felt her skin crawl from the sight of the nest and gagged at the putrid odor coming from the ooze. Suddenly something started to crawl out of the slimy nest and it looked like an over sized sewer rat.

'I wish you were a rat...'

The mother made her appearance and it was another thing that the temp hunter can add to her list of nightmares. It had the legs of a roach and claws of a rodent, the furry body had the density of the bug's outer shell, and the head was a mixture of rat's ears and the roach's mouth. Cider slowly stepped back a little and a horrifying hiss emitted from the creature. Feeling threatened, small wet fur bawls crawled out of its home and started to hiss at their enemy.

'Got to keep the attacks in the right size. If I make them too small, the books might get destroyed. You can do this Cider!'

"Bubble bubble fizz..." she whispered calmly.

A thin layer of aura surrounds Cider's body and she slowly raise her hands up in front of her. A pool of aura formed around her hands and medium sized translucent orbs started to form on the tip of her fingers. Once the orbs took shape, she blew them towards the vermin and the bubbles floated above them. Suddenly, something furry crawled inside her pants leg. She tried to regain her composure by shaking off the thing that was crawling on her leg, but she noticed that the fragile orbs of aura were trembling. Before she could do anything to the bubbles, the vermin noticed her movements and pounced at her. Knowing that it's too late to play it safe, Cider closed her eyes and braced for impact.

"AND POP!" She shouted nervously.

The bubbles simultaneously burst and a small explosion erupted from it. The initial blast knocked Cider off the ground, causing her to crash into a shelf of books and knocking herself out cold. Ten minutes later, she regained consciousness and found herself buried in history books that smelled like mold. Once she got herself out of the book pile, she finally figured out what was crawling in her pants. It was the curly shaped mouse from earlier and it was making a squeaking noise that sounded like laughter. Before she could do anything to the deformed rodent, she noticed that the ratroaches and its nest was replaced with a soccer sized crater.

A disappointed Cider groaned; the fact that she was too close to the bubbles made her realize how rusty she's getting. She should be happy that she didn't destroy the books but the outcome from the task made the effort taste bittersweet. Before she can mentally beat herself down, a cheerful jingle played in her pant's pocket and she took out her cellphone, it was her boss.

"Yes..." She answered politely, "Uh-huh, the place is pest-free for the year and everything is clean...Wait, what was that? No I didn't know we need to take a sample of the pest sir...Oh you were joking? I apologize for not getting the joke. By the way, I found a book that needs to be checked by an exorcist...Curling by Tomie Gyo...Oh you already know that, I'm sorry for repeating it to you...Ok, thank you sir and have a lovely evening."

After being dismissed by her boss, she realized she had one more task to do and it was removing the book from the horror section. There she noticed that the entire section is now covered in webs and tiny spider roaming on the silk threads. This was gonna take a while.

* * *

On the other side of town is one of the residential areas and it's called, Sparsam. That district is known to be the cheapest place to live, shop, and eat in. Not as luxurious as the other districts, the place had the architecture and the whimsical charm that Waldhalle is known for. There are apartment complexes scattered in that area along with small shops and bazaars that people can buy things from without being hassled by greedy vendors. Unfortunately, that area has the most stairs and to get around from place to place, it is recommended that tourists need walk to their destination ahead of time and pray that they don't tumble down the huge pleat of steps. Another downside is that the shops close earlier there than the ones in town square or in other districts. Despite its flaws, Sparsam is peaceful and so serene that anyone who lived or stayed there for a night will be soothed by its atmosphere.

But due to a disturbance in one of the complexes, a certain fellow with his trademark suit hasn't settled in quite well...

**"I'M NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN PERCH ON! SHOO SHOO GET OUT OF HERE!"**

After having dinner and saying goodbye to the temp hunter, Leorio thought of celebrating his success in getting into one of top universities by drinking all night. Unfortunately, today was his first day at the university and he found himself hungover. His neighbor's scream weren't helping, the screams felt like someone was slamming his head with a sledgehammer. Wanting some instant relief, Leorio dragged his butt to the nearest convenience store, bought himself a *sports drink, and went back to his apartment. Once he came back to the complex, he was welcomed by the landlord and was forced to listen the old man's lecture for ten minutes. After the lecture, the landlord gave another thrilling ten minute lecture about welcoming Leorio to the Crocus Apartments.

Once the landlord said goodbye to him, Leorio went up the balcony's steps which was now covered in bird feathers. He ignored the mess and went straight to his new home in Waldhalle. His room had all the essentials; clean pine wood floor, a small kitchen, one bathroom, a futon, a TV set, closet and a floor mirror. Leorio crashed on to his futon and stared at the ceiling. For a moment, he thought about his friends and wondered what were they up to and how were they doing. Then he remembered the promise he made; the group made a vow to meet up at Yorknew City in September which was three months away. Curious about Yorknew City, he sat himself up and grabbed his laptop on the coffee table. He logged himself in the Hunter Association's official database on his laptop. On the screen was an article about Yorknew city and a pop up video that was advertising a recent popular magical girl anime. Before he could click on the ad, he noticed the clock on his sidebar and he closed his laptop shut.

"Shit I'm going to be late." He muttered under his breath.

He opened the sports drink and chugged down the neon green liquid in five gulps. Feeling slightly relieved, he went over to the bathroom and did his normal morning routine. After heavily grooming himself, he went over to the floor mirror and put on his dark blue blazer which was now clean from the parfait stains.

'Wonder how's that temp hunter doing?' He thought to himself, 'She's probably fine.'

As he looked at himself at the mirror, he couldn't help but check himself out and do a couple of poses. In his opinion he looked flawless; his suit was wrinkle free and his face was free of stubble. He put on his teashade glasses and gave a smoldering smile to his reflection; reassuring himself that he'll be a successful doctor. After giving himself a mental pep talk, he locked the apartment door and went on his way to the university. Knowing that he has a long way to the school, he started to pick up his pace and dashed through the pleats of stairs. The sensation of running reminded him of the hunter exam then he remembered himself getting his ass handed by a demented looking jester and the moments where he fumbled a bit in the exam. Despite the mistakes, he did pass and can now use the hunter license to pay off the bills from the school.

Forty minutes later, Leorio finally reached Schadel University and found that the school's courtyard was crowded with a huge amount of students. There he realized, Schadel was huge and it was a bit overwhelming for the suit cladded fellow. Knowing it's the first day for the daytime classes, he decided that it's best to walk around, find which building is his first class located, and possibly mingle with some students. During his walk, he noticed a group of students in lab coats and one of them caught his eye. It was a young lady with fair skin, long lavender hair, and sea-green eyes. The female student noticed him staring and gave him a warm gentle smile which made his heart skip a beat. He waved back with a goofy smile and the group of students walked off to the building behind him. Then he heard the bell ringing from the clock tower outside of the school, signaling students that the first set of classes are about to start.

"The bell!" Leorio muttered to himself and looked at his schedule on his phone, "Ok...first class is located in the Grynizen hall."

"You mean Glyzinien Hall and that's where I'm heading off too!" A chipper voice echoed behind him.

"Hm?"

Leorio turned around and saw a petite girl with blond braids wearing a light pink ribboned blouse. There he noticed the badge on her top which had 'Student Council' in bold cursive print and he felt that this was the luckiest day of his life. Not only he's in one of the top schools, he's surrounded with pretty women, and met someone who goes to his class who is honestly freaking him out by that smile of hers. But he could care less of the smile, he can finally start his first day of school. Inside of the Glyzinien Hall, the two students walked together in the empty and silent hallway. As the two walked, another set of students ran past them and the blond girl greeted them as they ran by. Suddenly the two students panicked, they went inside a nearby classroom and slammed the door shut. This caught Leorio's attention, the building felt empty and the students who were going to their classes were acting a bit strange. It was as if something disturbing was floating in the air and unfortunately Leorio couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mika!" The girl responded in a chipper tone.

"Nice to meet you, names Leorio...say uh is the hallways in this school usually this quiet?"

"Why of course." She answered with glee, "All students who attend Schadell know that it's best to be quiet in class hours. After all this is a learning environment and it would be a _terrible_ that someone breaks the rule."

"Uh sure..."

'This girl is giving me the creeps; I'm getting chills every time she smiles at me. I'm thinking too hard on it, the students are probably scared of her because she's probably the leader of the student council.'

"And here we are!"

The two arrived at their destination and Mika opened the door to the classroom. When she opened the door, something in the room didn't settle well with Leorio; he felt like he was going to die from failing the class. His chest tightened, his legs felt like they were glued to the floor, and sweat began to form on his brow. He calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths, even though he feels threatened there was no sign of danger in the room. He tried to enter the room but once he set his foot into the door, the presence of pressure and death overwhelmed him.

He took a step back, 'Damn I can't go in there without having a heart attack but why?'

Then he noticed Mika entered the room. Before she went over to her seat, she saw that Leorio is still standing in front of the entrance and walked over to him.

"What's wrong? Come on in, no one's going to bite you."

"Easy for you to say! I feel like I'm about to enter a tank full of sharks!" Leorio shouted.

"That's because you are." A stern voice said behind him.

He turned around and found himself being stared by an old man in a forest green cardigan. The fifty year old was average height, his flattop light brown hair was peppered with gray, and his face had a few wrinkles. In Leorio's opinion, the man was in good shape for his age and it somewhat made him feel inadequate. Then he came to the conclusion, that the man standing in front of him was the professor for this class. A sheepish smile formed on his face and the man noticed it.

"Just don't stand there young man, get into class." The professor ordered in a gruff tone.

Before he could enter the class, Mika interrupted him by walking over to the intimidating teacher.

"Professor Casper, I'm afraid that Leorio cannot access the class due to the inability to adapt to his new environment." She said in a polite tone.

When he heard those words from the girl's mouth, he felt his blood boil and he wanted to say something back at her. Before he could blurt out a curse word, Casper glared at Mika intensively, which made her shiver in fear. Without saying a word, she quickly went inside the room and closed the door. A sigh escaped from the professor's dried lips and he gave his attention to the hot-headed student.

"So you're the new '_hunter'_ who got accepted to this school...Congratulations but unfortunately I cannot allow you into my class until you finish your _'exam'_." He explained in a concern tone.

"Exam?" Leorio asked in a confused tone.

'Why is he emphasizing his words?'

Professor Casper begin to cough nervously, "Shit I said already too much...Listen, I'll give you a week for you to finish your _'exam'_ and get one of my students to write down notes for you. However if you do not pass the test within this week, I have no other choice but to drop you. But in the mean time, get your shit together Mr. Paradinight."

The professor entered his classroom and closed the door shut, leaving a confused Leorio alone in the hallway. He walked down the silent halls and tried to figure out what exam he needed to take. But that was million dollar question, what 'exam' did he miss? This made Leorio's heart sink; all that effort he put into getting into a medical school was about to sink down the drain just because of some test he didn't know about. Then suddenly it hit him, the two words that the professor emphasized, 'hunter' and 'exam', made the light bulb in his mind shine brightly.

"THAT'S IT!" His scream echoed through the halls.

An old lady came out of a classroom and scolded him, "Pipe down! Class is in session!"

"Hehehe sorry m'am." He apologized with a goofy smile and walked himself out of the building.

He smiled to himself, 'I forgot I'm suppose to learn nen after I got accepted to this school. Come to think of it, when I was still studying for the entrance exams, I did meet that strange guy who was telling me about my potential and how I can make myself more amazing by letting him teach me something. I should have just let that dude teach me but then again that would completely ruin my schedule and he was freaking me out with his poses...now that I think about it who can I find in Waldhalle that can teach me nen? Who...'

He arrived at the school's courtyard and saw a familiar blue haired girl sitting near the school's fountain. It was Cider; who was talking to a group of students who looked like they were going to a dance recital. Then he remembered the conversation he had with her yesterday, she still owed him for ruining his dinner and his favorite suit. A grin formed on his face, maybe that anxious hunter can teach him to use nen and he had a hunch that she still remembers she still owes him big time. As Cider waved goodbye to the group of dancers, Leorio walked over to the fountain and got her attention by looming over her head. When she noticed a huge shadow blocked her sunlight, she slowly looked up and noticed who it was.


	4. The Girl and the Roof

A/N: Hey everyone, here's the fourth chapter of Wonder x Balance and I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for the long wait and please review.

Disclaimer: I do not own any references, Hunter x Hunter, or any songs used in the story.

Songs: Title of the chapter: The Girl and the Roof by Ockeroid

* * *

It was six o'clock in the morning and the sun was rising into the sky, signifying that a new day has begun. At the Crocus Apartments in Room 75, Cider was taking a long steamy soak in her bathtub. After yesterday's incident in the library, Cider found herself extremely soar and decided to take a medicated bubble bath. She breathed in the minty citrus aroma from the soap and felt the aches and stress melting into the water. As she laid her back on the tub, she realized that it's almost a year since she moved into this town. At first she felt accomplished in adapting to Waldhalle's pricey environment, but then she remembered the shortcomings she made within this year.

She sunk herself in the water, 'Maybe good things will happen to me in the new year...But I'll probably screw it up somehow...'

After taking a bath, Cider dried herself with a towel and put on a fresh set of clothes. Now fully dressed, she headed over to the mirror and fixed her permanently dyed hair. As she fixed her bangs, she gazed at her reflection and looked down at her legs. On her left shin was an old surgery scar that she got as a child and she cringed at the sight of it. The scar may have faded on the outside but the wound still felt fresh like it just happened yesterday. She sighed heavily and grabbed the leg wrap that was inside her medicine cabinet. After wrapping her shin, Cider walked out of the steamy bathroom and yawned loudly.

'I must have used the night time bubble bath instead of the morning one.'

Cider felt her eyelids getting heavier and she dragged her tired body to her futon that was near the window. She flopped face first into the soft cushions and felt the warmth from the sunlight coming from the window. She laid herself on her side and stared at the closed laptop on the coffee table in front of her. At first she wanted to stay awake just in case she's called up for another job but then she remembered that there's a slight chance of her not being called in for a job today.

"Maybe I can finally have a break." She exclaimed in a groggy tone and dozed off to slumber land.

Outside her window, a white carrier pigeon was pecking at the glass to get Cider's attention. Realizing that she was asleep, the pigeon roosted on the window sill and cooed out a distress call. On the apartment's balcony, a flock of pigeons perched on the railing and heard one of their brethren cooing for help. Hearing the coos, the flock of pigeons flew over to their comrade and left a huge trail of feathers on the stairs. The flock flew over to the window and all of them pecked at the window's lock. Few minutes later the birds successfully unlocked the window and pushed it open. The flock entered the room and each of them perched onto Cider's tired body with their sharp talons. The combination of being pecked and the loud coos awoken Cider and she led out an agonizing groan. Finally she rose up from her futon and batted away at the birds like a horror monster.

"I'M NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN PERCH ON! SHOO SHOO GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed at the birds and window.

The flock of pigeons flew out of the window and ascended off into the light blue sky. Cider sat herself on her futon which was now covered in feathers and there she noticed a rolled up piece of paper on her shaggy green carpet. She read the message; it was from the Temp Hunters Agency and it said that Cider must contact them immediately for her next assignment. She led out a disappointed sigh, she was hoping she could have a break today and she wanted to tell her boss to get someone else to do the mission. But she couldn't say that to him, if she didn't take the job then she had nothing else to do today and she didn't want her boss to be disappointed.

'Back to work...' She thought to herself and opened her laptop on the coffee table.

Cider got onto the Hunters Association Database log in screen and realized that she forgot the password to access the Temp Hunters' webpage. Before she typed anything, she grabbed something under her pillow and found her lint covered Hunter License. Cider looked at the scriptures written on the card and typed in a set of codes into the log in screen. Once she pressed enter, the website transferred her into the Temp Agency board and a small window popped up onto her screen. A sweaty man in his mid fifties who was wearing a black turtleneck appeared in the window and Cider gulped. The man on the monitor is the representative and boss of the Temp Hunters, Gil Autumns. Cider had mixed feelings towards her boss, sometimes she thought of him as a biggest jerk in the planet but due to his status, she had to respect him. She took a deep breath and turned on her webcam, the man noticed her on his computer screen and gave a stern smile.

"Good morning Autumns-sama." Cider greeted her boss in a nervous tone.

"Good morning Meiming, I see that the carrier pigeon got my message to you safely. So what do you think of the new delivery system?" He asked with a grin.

"I-It's excellent sir," She answered with a grin, "But if you do not mind me asking, why use the carrier pigeon system to relay messages? I thought the pigeons were only used if there was an emergency."

"This is an emergency." He retorted bitterly, "You've been in the Temp Hunter business for two years now Meiming, you should know better than to question your boss." He replied in a gruff tone.

When she heard her boss' harsh response, it felt like someone stabbed her in the heart. She should be mad at him because he asked for her opinion, but she felt that she deserved to be ripped by her boss. From what she learned so far in the last three years of being a Temp, Cider learned that in the end she's just a lousy Temp Hunter and if she says anything back at her boss, she could be easily replaced by another one.

Cider bowed slightly to the webcam, "I apologize sir I did not mean to speak out of line."

"Apology accepted Meiming." He said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, "But anyway, do you know of the Single Star Virus Hunter, Ski Casper?"

"Yes sir, he's stationed here in Waldhalle and currently teaching at Schadel University." Cider answered, "He's an excellent doctor and he's the one who treated my wounds from my last job."

"And he did a fine job patching you up." Autumns replied with a smile, "Ski Casper was assigned to be an Examiner for one of the Hunters who passed the 287th Exam. But unfortunately he's currently busy teaching students at the University, so he requested that you teach the newbie some of the basics of Nen for this week."

Cider had a confused look on her face, "If you do not mind me asking sir, was there any reason why he would choose me to be an Examiner?"

"I'm trying to figure that out myself, I recommended my daughter, Mika, to take over for Casper but he refused my generous offer. Who on earth would someone refuse my beloved little flower's teachings of Nen?"

As Autumns continued his rambling about Casper not choosing his beloved little flower, Cider thought over what her boss just said to her. She tried to figure out why would a Single Star Virus Hunter chose someone like her over someone who may have better skill than hers. Not only that, learning only few of the basics in a week is dangerous, unless the person is either a genius or willing to take the risk. Before she could drift into her world of negative thoughts, Cider heard someone coughing and realized that Autumn was waiting for her to say something.

"I apologize Autumns-sama, I was thinking over on what you said and why your daughter didn't get picked to be Casper's substitute." She answered in a honest tone.

"Understandable." He replied with a smile and typed something on his keyboard, "I'm sending you the information you need for this job and transferred your pay from cleaning the library. I must say minus the fact that you left a huge hole in the floor, you did an excellent job in killing those disgusting vermin."

Cider's eyes sparked up, "Really?!"

"Yes, keep up the good work and someday you might get a star."

Once Autumns logged off on his computer, a folder appeared on Cider's computer screen and she clicked on it. The folder contained info about the 287th Hunter Exam and the participants that passed and failed this year's exam. As she looked through the folder, she remembered a recent gossip story that was all the rage for Temps on their coffee break. Apparently in the first stage of the 287th Exam, one of the applicants pinned their button onto their own skin and the pain was so excruciating that the applicant ran and cried all the way to the end of the underground tunnel. A laugh escaped Cider's lips and continued to search through the applicant profiles.

'Wow there's a huge bunch of people that passed this year!' She thought amazingly, 'That reminds me I should write back to my pen pal and congratulate him for passing the exam. I wonder if I can ask him if the gossip story is real or not.'

Cider skimmed through the folder and found the file that contained the stats and information about Examinee #403. The applicant was located in Waldhalle but the picture and name of the rookie Hunter was corrupted. Even though there was no picture, Cider was at least glad that there was information about the rookie's current location and she felt determined that she can find the hunter in this huge town. Few minutes later, Cider closed the laptop and headed over to the phone. She knew that she needed help in teaching Nen to someone and decided to contact her mentor a.k.a. her older brother, Tsing Meiming.

'If I'm going to _temporarily _be someone's teacher for a week, I need some advice. I just hope I'm not bugging him.' She thought worriedly.

Someone with a gruff voice answered the other line, "Hello."

"A-ah Tsing-san, it's me Cider."

"Are you in danger?" Her brother asked concern.

"No not at all!" She chirped reassuringly, "But I do need some help, you see I got assigned to be a substitute Examiner for a rookie and I was wondering...do you have any tips?"

"Take risks and don't be too hard on yourself."

* * *

At Schadel University's empty courtyard, Cider was sitting near the fountain and had a distraught look on her face. For the past few hours, Cider searched high and low for Applicant #403 but she came out empty handed from her quest.

'I thought finding rookies would be easy but boy I was wrong. If the profile picture and name of the applicant wasn't corrupted, then maybe I would have a better chance in finding her or him. Man I screwed up.'

She grumbled a bit and started to think of the worst possible outcomes of her mistake. It could be either that the rookie left Waldhalle or someone is already teaching them the basics. Then she started to freak out about the latter, if someone forcibly taught the newbie Nen, they could get severely injured or die a painful death, and if anything bad happened to the newbie, Cider would be in deep trouble. She lead out a horrified screech and noticed someone walking towards her who was wearing a dark blue jacket, leotard, and stockings with ballet slippers. It was her classmate from dance class and she looked happy to see Cider.

The classmate with cotton pink hair smiled at her, "Afternoon Cider!"

"Good afternoon Pez." Cider greeted with a nervous smile, "How's the day time classes for you?"

"They're awesome just like you said!" She answered, "But I wish you told me that you transferred to the night classes...I was worried that you quit the class and it'll be lonely if you did leave."

"Don't worry I'm still in ballet and I'm sorry if I didn't tell you ahead of time that I was transferring. The reason I transferred to the night classes is because of my job." Cider said in a honest tone, "Besides I can't bring myself to quit because I wouldn't get to see you succeed in getting the main role for this year's ballet recital."

Pez blushed, "Oh no I highly doubt that I'll get the main role! I'm too clumsy~"

"You say that but in truth you're really graceful and I know you'll get the main role for sure." Cider said happily.

The two girls giggled and continued to chat about their classes together. Few minutes later, a group of dancers from Pez's class walked over to the two and started to talk with the two. Once the group of dancers joined in the conversation, Cider felt a little suffocated being in the middle of the crowd. Other than her friendship with Pez, Cider's relationship between the other dancers and the instructor were neutral. But for some reason, every time the teacher or another student talked to Cider, she felt more anxious than usual and she didn't understand why she felt so uneasy. Ten minutes later, the group said goodbye to Cider and headed off to their class. As the group left, Cider went back to her thoughts and realized that she covered by a shadow. Wondering what was blocking her sunlight, she looked up and a nervous expression formed on her face. It was none other than Leorio Paradinight; the Hunter she had dinner with yesterday and almost screwed it up.

"Hey Cider." Leorio greeted her with a smile.

"O-oh hello Leorio-sama...Is there something that you need?" She asked anxiously to the suited Hunter.

"Straight to the point I like that, but please just call me Leorio!" He replied with a grin, "Well since you asked, I was hoping that a seasoned hunter like yourself could teach me something."

Cider gasped a bit and waved her hand, "I'm flattered that you called me a seasoned hunter but..." Cider's smile slowly disappeared, "What can I teach you other than making contorted faces or clumsy ballet moves?"

"You can teach me, well you know...something that's very crucial for Hunters." He replied with a grin.

She frowned nervously, "You want to learn Nen?"

"Correct! So will you help me?" He asked with a hopeful look on his face.

"I know that I still owe you for ruining your suit but I don't think I'm skilled enough to teach you something that complex. But then again, I'm assigned to teach someone the basics too but I can't seem to find that person and if I did find them, I might disappoint them with my terrible teaching skills." She explained truthfully with a frown.

Leorio rubbed his chin and watched as Cider twiddled her fingers nervously. At first he was glad that Cider would agree to teach him but then he was disappointed by how she's doubting herself. Granted, from what he's learned from her, he can say that she's scatterbrained, clumsy, nervous, too honest, flaky, and overly polite. Despite the girl's flaws, his gut is telling him to take the chance of getting her as his mentor and reassured him that something good might come out of it. Then Leorio thought of an idea that would benefit not only him but for the girl's lack of confidence and he had a feeling that she'll be convinced enough to say yes to his offer.

"Well if you're worried so much about disappointing that person. How about a practice run?" Leorio suggested.

"Practice run?" Cider repeated.

"Yeah, think of it like basic science, I'm the subject, you're the scientist, and you're teaching method is your hypothesis. You're key goal is to see your if teaching method is accurate and you have me whose also a newbie to test it out on! After a few hours of testing out your method, bam! The turnout is excellent and you can use that method on that person you're looking for!"

Cider gasped, "But what if the outcome is incorrect!?"

Leorio sighed, "You shouldn't be so negative. What kind of hunter are you if you don't try at all?!"

"You're right." She mumbled.

'Maybe I said too much, she looks like she's about to run away crying.' He thought regretfully.

Few moments later, Cider stood up from the ground and gave the bespectacled Hunter a determined look.

"Alright let's give it a shot." She said with her fists up mid-air, "But since this is my first time doing this, don't be too hard on me okay?"

'I sure do hope my gut is not tricking me.' Leorio thought heavily.

* * *

Outside of Waldhalle, Cider and Leorio were walking together on a dirt path that leaded them to the big oak tree that was on a grassy knoll. Once they were covered by the tree's shade, Cider grabbed a stick on the ground and drew something on the dirt. She drew three weirdly shaped bodies and a chart with symbols. Leorio stared at the poorly drawn chart and say that it consisted of four symbols; Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. Suddenly, she scribbled on the symbols except for the first one and nervously smiled at her willing 'test subject'.

She looked at him, "Before we begin, I have some bad news and good news for you. The bad news is I can only teach you the first principle and that's all."

"Why can't you teach me all of it?"

"If I do that you'll shrivel up like a prune like this scribble I did." She said as she pointed at one of her weird drawings, "Not only you'll look like a raisin but you'll die from over-exerting all the life energy or aura that was keeping you alive. Every living thing has an au-"

"You don't need to tell me that, someone already told me all about aura and how it could be used as a weapon for Hunters." Leorio replied.

"R-really? Then why are you asking me to teach you basics when you already know about it?"

He grinned nervously, "The truth is someone tried to teach me Nen but I told him that I couldn't continue the training because I needed to study for Schadel's entrance exam."

"Why didn't you tell me this before I drew the bodies?" Cider asked dejectedly.

"Because it was funny to watch you draw those. But anyway, what's the good news?"

Cider responded, "The good news is, the first principle, Ten, is the easiest to learn and it will only take about two to three days to get the gist of it."

"Any chance that you could teach me Ten in half a day?"

"Yes." She said, "But are you sure you want to go with that route? It could end horri-"

**_"Take risks and don't be too hard on yourself."_**

"On second thought I think it would end well." She muttered to herself.

"Hm?"

She smiled at Leorio, "It's like basic science, sometimes the scientist have to take risks in their experiments. So instead of making you open your pores by meditation, I'll gently open the pores by jolting them with my Nen."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Only if the person who is teaching the student is inexperienced or has evil intentions."

"I'm not sure that I want to continue with this." He replied shakingly.

"If you have doubts about my abilities then I don't blame you. Heck, I'm kinda surprised you trust me in training you and I barely know even know you other than you go to the same school as me...The jolting method is a shot in the dark but it's been a long time that I felt this confident with something, so please trust me just this once."

At that point, Leorio noticed the glimmer in her eyes, it reminded him of the first part of Hunter Exam and how he almost gave up. It was a test of stamina and lots of applicants failed at following the Examiner who was running steadily through a long dark tunnel way. Due to him wearing an attire that wasn't for physical education and not conditioning for the Exam ahead of time, a sweaty Leorio stopped halfway through the tunnel and was gasping for air. But he wasn't alone in that dark tunnel, two boys were waiting for him and one of them had that same expression Cider was giving to him now.

He gulped and he took off his blazer, "O-okay, let's do this."

"Alright, please take a sit." She said with a smile, "Ok, the first principle, Ten, allows the user to be shrouded by their aura which will protect them from emotional attacks from other users. For example, I want to go inside a room but I can't because-"

"Something in the air made you scared." He asked curiously.

"H-how did you know?"

Leorio rubbed the back of his neck, "It happened to me inside the Glyzinen Hall in Schadel, I couldn't go inside my class because I felt like something was going to kill me in that room. But the strangest thing is, there was nothing threatening inside the classroom."

"Wow you have classes in Glyzinen Hall, you must be a genius!"

"Really?" He said in shock.

"Mhm, that building is reserved for students who got a high score in medical and science parts of the entrance exam. Since you said that nothing in the room scared you, it's possible that someone is channeling their aura to intimidate other students from getting into class. But don't worry, once you learn to open and close your nodes, you can protect yourself from the most mind breaking attacks and continue with your studies."

"Sounds good but how are you going to open my nodes without killing me?"

"By using my Nen, I can slowly open each pore in your body. Usually it takes three to five minutes but I'll do it in two hours just to be on the safe side. Just close your eyes and focus your mind by thinking about yourself and what your goals are." She said and slowly placed her hands near his clothed back.

When Cider placed her hands inches away from his back, he cringed slightly from the new sensation he was feeling. Even though she wasn't touching him, it felt like something hot was pressing against him and his body was responding to it by forming sweat. He took a deep breath and memories of his past flowed throughout his mind. He reflected on his poor life choices and how he wanted to make up for those mistakes. Then he remembered his friends; one who wanted to find his father, one who wanted revenge, one who wanted a new life, and one who was the reason he wanted to be a doctor.

'He's crying.' Cider thought as her expression softened.

Two hours later, Leorio was sitting peacefully on ground and his body was drenched in sweat. Once Cider pulled her hands away, she gasped and saw something that was shockingly impressive. Leorio's entire body was surrounded by a thin layer of his life energy and it looked like he was able to maintain the constant flow from his body.

'In the fake laws of Nen, Ten is all about focusing one's self and reflect upon their goals and flaws. Sometimes people use those that law to open the nodes but it's difficult due to people like myself have a difficult time accepting themselves. But judging from this guy's control, he's able to accept all his faults and his goals, I wonder how did he do that? He probably has something very dear to him that allowed to accept himself.'

"You can open your eyes now." She responded.

As Leorio opened his eyes, he noticed something different in vision and he couldn't help but smile widely. As he turned around to see Cider, the thin of layer of aura that was surrounding him started to rush out of his body and he panicked from the sight of it.

"Don't worry this happens to a lot newbies." She reassured him nervously, "The only way to prevent it from leaking away is by concentrating your aura and allow it to flow through out your body."

"H-how do I do that?!" Leorio asked frighteningly.

"Uhm...Think of taking a huge sip of cold beer after taking a hot relaxing bath, it's refreshing!"

Five minutes later, Leorio's aura reverted back to its stable state and he sighed in relief.

He grinned at Cider, "And you thought the outcome would be horrible."

"Says to the person who had doubts about my skills." She retorted jokingly.

* * *

Few hours later inside of Glyzinen Hall, the two Hunters stood in front of the classroom that Leorio couldn't get inside. It was already evening and most of the day time students have already left, leaving the campus almost empty. Cider reached over to the door knob and looked over to Leorio who was determined that he could enter the room without trouble.

"Well here we are!" Leorio exclaimed cheerfully, "Professor Casper's class."

Cider's eyes widened, "That's surprising, Casper is the Hunter who hired me to teach someone from the 287th Exam. It's a shame that I couldn't find Applicant #403 today but maybe I'll have more luck finding him tomorrow."

Leorio arched his eyebrow, "Uh wait you said #403 right?"

"Yes, do you know of them?" She asked curiously.

He pointed at himself and a triumphant smile, "You're looking at him and all that experimenting that you did today paid off tremendously."

"Yeah it did pay off." She said in a reassured tone, "But let's see if you handle this now."

A smile formed on Cider's face and she slowly turned the door knob, the door opened and a huge blast of dark aura spewed out of the room. Leorio gritted his teeth and his aura wrapped itself around his body that smelt of sweat. Slowly he stepped into the room and realized that nothing in the room scared him anymore. Cider's teaching skills of Ten paid off and Leorio jumped with glee.

"YOOSH! I CAN FINALLY GET INTO MY CLASS!" He screamed delightfully.

"Congrats." A familiar voice responded behind the two.

The two turned around and saw Casper, who was sipping a cup of hot coffee mixed with sugar. As he swallowed the bitter sweet liquid, a satisfied smile formed on his lips and he turned his attention to the Temp Hunter who he hired today.

"I'll take over from here Cider." Casper said in a hearty tone.

"Yes Casper and I hope you have a nice evening," She said and waved goodbye to him and her temporary pupil, "Good luck with your studies Leorio!"


	5. On a Clear Day

Hey guys, here's the fifth chapter and I hope you enjoy it. A friendship will sprout in this chapter ^^. Happy reading and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, references, or songs used in this story.

Songs: -Title of the Chapter: On a Clear Day by Joe Hisaishi

* * *

"Ok, once more..." She recited to herself.

Inside of an empty dim lighted dance room, a sweaty Cider was gasping for air and supported herself by holding onto the barre. As she continued to catch her breath, the radio in the right corner of the room began to play a soft orchestral piece. Once her ears picked up the music, Cider turned away from the barre and gazed at her reflection in the mirror of the opposite of the room. As the music slowly filled the room, she gently raised her arms up into the air and swayed them to the side, then she stepped forward with her left foot. Once her foot touched the cold wooden floor, ill memories flowed through her mind and she cringed but she proceeded to continue with her warm ups.

Half an hour later, Cider sat herself on the ground and putting away her belongings inside her duffle bag. There she saw a pair of plain ballet shoes that were barely worn and her lips formed a soft smile. The shoes were from an old client who became a close friend to Cider in the Association, but due to certain events that happened recently in the Temp Hunter's career, Cider hasn't spoke to her friend, Cherie, for almost two years. Deep down, she wanted to talk to Cherie, but something in her anxiety riddled heart made it harder to do so. Before she wallowed in her regrets, she remembered what happened to her earlier today; she was successful in helping a new Hunter who learned the first principle of Nen and he can finally go inside his class without getting scared.

'I'm glad that I took up on Tsing-san's advice, the training session was a success. Come to think of it, maybe today's success is a sign that I should take more risks and good things will come from it...but it could be that the whole outcome from today's job was just based on sheer dumb luck. Not only that, I doubt bending some rules will change things in my life drastically and even if I did break a rule, my life will probably be the same or worse...' She cringed deeply, 'More bad things will happen like that '_time'_...'

**_"You shouldn't be so negative. What kind of hunter are you if you don't try at all?!"_**

"He's right, I can't call myself a hunter if I don't try at all...Alright, my resolution for the new year is to take risks and experience new things. I'll start tomorrow by calling my mom, my brothers, and maybe Cherie...On second thought, that should wait...I'm not ready to call her yet and I don't think she wants to talk to me right now...'

* * *

Two weeks later at the University, in Casper's class, a group of students were being lectured by their professor, who was writing some information about the human body on the chalkboard. A determined Leorio paid attention to his teacher's lecture, wrote down something in his notebook and highlighted an entry in the textbook. The past two weeks was smooth sailing for the career pursuing hunter and his excitement for each class session grew by the day. But for today's session, he was a tad bit embarrassed by the fact he wasn't wearing his trademark suit for the last session for the week. Due to a mishap with spilling iodine on himself in his chemistry class, his suit needed to be dry cleaned and he barely had anything else to wear except for a clown patterned wife beater and some shredded shorts. But he decided to not wear those tacky clothes, he went with his gut and decided to wear the clothes that he wore under his suit which consisted of a white t-shirt and blue striped boxers.

"M-Mr. Paladinight," Casper coughed nervously, "Can you please see me after class?"

"Yes sir." The two responded.

"A-and please," Casper's cheeks were slightly red, "While I understand there's no dress code in attending to this school, it's probably wise that you don't come to next class if you decide to wear only your undergarments."

A sheepish grin appeared on Leorio's face and he heard some of his peers snickering in the background. But he didn't mind it, he was in good spirits and went back to listening to his teacher's lecture. Two hours passed and the class was dismissed for today, as the students leave the room, Leorio and walked over to Casper's desk who was grabbing something out of his bag pack which was a pair of black slacks and a file folder. As his professor offered the pants to his student, a confused look formed on Leorio's face and Casper's cheeks were flushed red.

"An old friend of mine always told me to keep an extra pair in my bag just in case if I rip my pants or spill something on it. But seeing that you survived the whole class in your underwear, you deserve this pair of pants." Casper explained with a wide grin.

"Thanks but why didn't you give me this before class?" Leorio said as he puts on the pants.

"That'll be too easy, you need to struggle first before earning something." He said with a hearty laugh.

"Uh-huh...So what did you need me sir?" A confused Leorio replied.

"Ah yes," Casper opened the folder which was a profile of his student, "From what I've read so far from your Hunter Profile, the judges in the Exam had mentioned that your medical skills were top of the line and I wouldn't mind to see your skills in a real hospital setting. If you're free tomorrow, you can assist me in my clinic which is in need of extra hands, but don't worry nothing too 'drastic' happens in my clinic and if it does happen, that'll be 'my job' not my students. But don't worry, you won't be alone in my clinic, a few of your classmates like Ms. Autumns will be helping out as well, and you can use this experience as community service. So what do you say Mr. Paladinight?" Casper said to his pupil.

Leorio rubbed his chin, 'I was hoping to go to that job interview tomorrow but Casper is offering to let me work at his clinic and it is community service. Not to mention, I can also learn some new things at his clinic, maybe even learn a few nen tricks from him. But then again, I do need money, the bills are stacking up and I still need to pay for the expenses for the Yorknew trip on September. Oh man this is tricky! Wait, maybe if I do an amazing job in his clinic, then maybe he'll consider of hiring me as a paid intern.'

"Alright, I'll take up on your offer Professor." Leorio answered with a grin.

"That's great. I'll send you the directions to your email and I hope to see you 'fully clothed' tomorrow at 6 A.M. sharp."

"Yes sir, see you tomorrow Professor and thanks for the pants." He replied as he walked out of the classroom.

As he walked out of the building, Leorio remembered that he needed to pick up his dry cleaning today in Spars am and the store closes at four in the evening. Since it's a long and tedious walk to Sparsam, he decided to take a short cut by taking the train and getting off on Muller Station, which leads to Sparsam's district. Once he arrived at Waldhalle's train station, he slid his red train pass into the machine, but the gates were sealed shut. Leorio tried to slide his card a number of times, until someone slid a yellow card into the machine and the small gates opened. There Leorio noticed a familiar face whose hair was clipped into a small pony tail, in a clean pressed khaki suit, and wearing a pair of white and powder blue pumps that had a tiny pink ribbon on each shoe.

"This happened to me before, in Waldhalle, you have to use a different pass for the stations on Friday and thru the weekend. B-but don't worry, it's the same price as the weekend pass...well goodbye." The familiar girl explained nervously and quickly walked off into the station.

"Thanks...hey wait a minute!" He shouted and ran off before the gates closed.

* * *

'Ok, I took a risk and helped a stranger to get to his train, but I think I probably scared the guy and he probably saw me almost trip from wearing these shoes. This resolution I made is pretty hard to follow but I can't give up now.' She thought with determination and her smile slowly disappeared, 'Crap, it's already 4 PM and I forgot that I needed to do some grocery shopping and I need to buy a thank you gift for- ' She thought as she boarded on the train.

"Cider wait up!" A man's voice shouted behind her.

She turned around and found Leorio, entering the train and stood beside her as the cart was being filled with passengers. As the doors slid closed, the train began to move and the two grabbed onto the straps that was hanging from the train's ceiling.

"You know it was nice that you got me inside the station but it's pretty rude that you didn't say hi to me." Leorio replied jokingly.

"Wait what-Oh no! I'm sorry Leorio-san, I was so busy thinking about grocery shopping, that I didn't know that I was helping you at the ticket machine. I apologize for being foolish and if I did hurt your feelings, I'm sorry for being so rude and pig-headed." She blurted out with distress.

As Cider went on apologizing to Leorio, the passengers in the train stared at them, some couldn't help but giggled at the girl's apology antics and some were giving dirty looks at the guy who they believed was harassing the girl. Leorio laughed nervously at the passengers who were glaring at him and quickly tapped on Cider's shoulder to get her attention.

"It's a joke, calm down," He muttered between his teeth nervously, "And **please** just call me Leorio," He whispered calmly to her.

"I'm sorry that I didn't get the joke," She said and brushed the lint off her pencil skirt, "And I can't just call you by your name, it's too impolite and you might be offended."

"I'm not going to be offended if you call me by my first name without an honorific. Besides, this is the third time we met and I think it's okay to drop the formalities."

"Okay then, Leorio-sa- err I mean Leorio!" She smiled nervously, "It's nice to see you that you're doing well, if you don't mind me asking, how's your studies?" She asked politely.

"Thanks to you teaching me Ten, everything is going swell for me in Schadel. Even though I still have to learn more of the basics, I passed the first quiz in Casper's class and I'll be doing some community service tomorrow which makes me one step closer to becoming a doctor." He said with a smile.

"That's great that you settled in well in your classes and congrats on passing the quiz. But seeing that you scored high in the entrance exam, taking those advanced classes and acing those tests must be a breeze for you."

"Believe me it's not a cake walk, I had to work my ass off just to get into that University and I almost bombed that quiz. You should of seen Casper's face, when he gave me back my quiz, he just told me 'Try harder next time Mr. Paladinight.' and I felt the hair on the back of my head stand up. It's a good thing that I know Ten now because I'm sure as hell that glare would have made me drop the class."

Cider chuckled softly, "Yeah, Casper can be scary, but he means well to his patients and wants his students like you to succeed."

"That's true but how about you, what have you been doing these last two weeks?" Leorio asked curiously.

"M-me? Well, nothing too interesting happened to me in the past twelve days. I transferred back to the day time ballet classes, did a lot of paper work at the Temp Agency, and I recently came back from a short business trip in Jappon but nothing really happened there, all I did was just delivery work and other stuff. Oh shoot, I probably should have bought some souvenirs, if my boss gives me another job outside of Waldhalle, I promise that I'll get you something." She said rubbed the back of her nervously.

'That sounds more interesting than what I'm doing...' Leorio thought who was slightly envious.

"Thanks but you don't have to do that." He replied politely.

"Oh no I insist, think of it as a welcoming gift for joining the Hunters Association and a reward for settling in Waldhalle. And you can also think of it as an apology for wasting your time during the Nen Training, ruining your suit, and the fact that I didn't greet you at the ticket machine."

'There she goes again with her guilt...I want to say no on the gift but she probably might say something like _'I understand Leorio-san, I apologize if I was being too persistent on giving you a souvenir.'_ This girl is way too nice and formal but I guess she means good. Mind as well take up on her offer, it is a freebie and everyone likes freebies, even if they're small items.' Leorio thought.

"Alright then but you better get me something worth my while," He said with smile, "But what kind of stuff did you do in Jappon other than delivery?"

"Temp Hunters stuff, but long story short, it's mostly paperwork and assisting the client that hired me."

"Clients?"

"Mhm, you can say Temp Hunters are kinda like Contract Hunters, but the difference is Contract Hunters are hired by corporations and Temps are hired by various people in different regions, from the government, or hunters like you and me. But I don't get work for the government, that's for the top ranking Temps and it's way too stressful. Whoops, I went off topic and I didn't really go into detail about what I did with the client, sorry about that." She explained and continued to rub the back of her head.

Once Cider rubbed the back of her head, her blazer's sleeve rolled down and revealed that her left arm was covered in bandages. Leorio noticed that every time she moved arm, she winced indicating that she got injured recently. Before he could have said something about her arm, the train slowly went to a stop and a bell chime echoed through the train carts.

_"Now arriving Muller Station."_

"Well here's my stop, it's been nice chatting with you aga-."

"Wait, this is my stop as well and we can still talk while we walk out of the station and if you want I can examine your arm."

"My arm? Oh this," Cider rolled her left sleeve to expose a fully bandaged arm, "I got this when I was still in Jappon but you don't need to trouble yourself in examining it, I went to a clinic earlier today to get this re-dressed and the nurse told me that it'll heal in a couple of days but only if I don't overexert my arm which means no heavy lifting. Now that I think about it, grocery shopping is gonna be a bit of problem, but I think I'll manage with my right arm." She replied and rolled down her sleeve.

'Judging from her tone, she's telling the truth that she went to a clinic to get that checked and sterilized. I wonder what kind of job was she doing in Jappon to get that wound? I want to ask her but I have feeling she's going to say it's only a flesh wound and her trip in Jappon is nothing interesting to share. But considering the fact that she got that injured recently, it'll be bad for her if she's going to carry all her groceries with only just one arm. But even if I offered to help her, she'll probably say no, wait, maybe if I tell her it's a way thanking her for teaching me Ten, then she'll say yes, it's worth a shot.'

"Ok, since you already went to a clinic for your arm, how about that I help you with your groceries? It's the least I can do for you, since you taught me the first principle."

"Oh no I can't accept that, I'll feel bad for troubling you with my problem and you look like you have some important errands to do."

'Man this girl is hard-headed and this is probably not the first time she refused someone's help. You leave me no choice Cider, but to play the victim card.'

"All I'm gonna do today is just pick up my dry cleaning and go back home to relax and study for a bit. I think I can take the risk to help you with your grocery shopping, so I insist that you let me help you with your shopping and if you don't I'm gonna be offended and I'm going to cry." He explained and fibbed on the last part.

Suddenly, Leorio began to make fake crying sounds and Cider gritted her teeth nervously. The train station may not be crowded, but she felt the same anxiety that she experienced on the day where Pez talked to her at the fountain.

Cider grumbled mentally, 'I really want to say no but I don't want to him to be sad, I have no choice but to accept his offer and have the experience of someone helping me with my grocery shopping. I just wish I didn't injure my arms in Jappon but stupid me couldn't keep her head calm when spreading out the bubble.'

She sighed in defeat, "Ok...I humbly accept your offer but we should stop by at the laundry mat first before heading to the grocery."

Leorio grinned triumphantly and patted her back, "An excellent choice, well no need to stand here, we have errands to do!"

'How come I have the feeling that I just got tricked right now?' Cider thought and noticed he wasn't crying at all.

* * *

After picking up his suit at the laundry mat in Sparsam's shopping district, Leorio and Cider headed off to the grocery store. However during the trip, he noticed that she was walking rigidly and every time they stopped, she stood stiff like a statue. Comparing the time Leorio first met her, he was glad that she wasn't running away from him and it was nice of her to give him a small tour of the shopping district. But he was getting annoyed by the awkward barrier that was emitting from the Temp Hunter and the fact that she's apologizes everyone time she went off on a tangent or was about to talk about something minor in her personal life. Then he decided to break the barrier by starting up a conversation which would not only make them laugh, but also make her somewhat comfortable.

"So how old were you when you took the exam?" Leorio asked curiously.

"Fifteen but there were a lot of moments where I almost got eliminated...Sorry I don't really like talking much about it, I kind of feel a little ashamed about the mistakes that I made when I was young." Cider answered and frowned slightly.

"Cheer up, everyone makes mistakes and besides, you're not the only one who almost got booted out."

"Really?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah," Leorio grinned, "I have an idea, since we're both Hunters and all, we should at least talk about it and compare our experiences."

"That sounds embarrassing and downright terrifying. I would refuse, but since you're helping me then I don't mind talking about it."

'I need to stay positive but I have a feeling he's going to think of me as a loser.' She thought regretfully.

Once they entered the store, the two began to exchange their stories that were filled with surprises, struggles, and laughter. For Cider, it was a bit of a challenge for her to go through her memories that were locked up inside her mind and she was having a difficult time in talking about it. But when Leorio talked about his moments in the recent exam, she couldn't help but feel envious for him, nothing seemed to hold him back and he didn't look like he had any shame or regret on talking about his moments of failure. After paying for her groceries, Cider decided to hold onto Leorio's belongings and watched as he carried the two medium sized paper bags filled with supplies.

"My place isn't too far from here, but you know I can carry one bag." Cider offered in a worried tone.

"And what, break your free arm, I'll be fine, don't worry." Leorio reassured her, "But back to my story, after we got a second chance Menchi, she assigned us to a new task and it was to get eggs from a Spider Eagle's nest. At first it looked easy, but a few of the applicants let go of the webbing too early and some of the participants on land were too chicken to do it. But me, my friends, and a few others fell at the right time and got ourselves some eggs. At first I thought we were going to die, but thankfully my friend, Gon, gave us a cue to let go of the webbing. And the best thing about the whole ordeal wasn't just passing the second part, but eating the eggs."

Cider sighed in awe, "You're so lucky that you and your friends ate a dream egg, I always wanted to try those but they're so expensive. Not to mention your friends sound like they'll be amazing Hunters, especially that Gon fellow. When I took the 283rd Exam, the second part was a written exam and you have to pass it to get the antidote from the first part."

"What did you do in the first part?"

"The same thing that you did, follow the judge through a long tunnel way. But for this one, no one knew that the tunnel was filled with toxic gas and that you have to listen to the judge's story about his first experience in an archaeological dig."

"That's sounds way too extreme for the first part of the exam."

"At first it does sound like it but from what I'm getting from your story, both exams are the same difficulty but in different sections. But I guess you can say that's the easy part of the exam, the hardest part was the final section and I barely passed that."

"Was it a sparring match?"

"No the sparring match was the fourth part of exam and that was held up on top of Trick Tower. The final part was the worst thing that could ever happen to me in the Exam other than breaking both my legs in the sparring match and the last section was...a karaoke match."

"Pfft, seriously that's worst part of your exam, karaoke is easy!" He laughed loudly.

Cider cringed a bit from the laughter, "Maybe for you but I'm a horrible singer and most of the applicants agreed that I sounded like a dying cat."

"Then remind me to never go on a karaoke bar with you." He replied jokingly, "But tell me what's so hard about the karaoke test?"

"In order to pass the final exam, the remaining applicants have to sing three songs that Netero-sama personally picked for each participant. But the real kicker is that the karaoke score had to match the number on the pins that the participants received from their sparring matches and you have to get at least 2 out of 3 matches or you fail at the exam. The songs that Netero picked for me made me wanted to cry, the first song was, You Wa Punched, from the anime, Kick Of The West Star, and I was one point away from not matching the pin's number. Second song was an old romantic ballad and I got a zero on that one, then there was the final song which I did surprisingly okay on and I can't believe that karaoke machine had that in its list."

"What song was it?" Leorio asked curiously.

Before Cider could answer his question, she couldn't help but snorted and struggled to refrain from laughing. Then she realized something, she didn't feel embarrassed, in fact, she found it funny to talk about her old mistakes and it reminded her of the times where she told stories to Cherie. When she remembered her friend, a small pain formed in her chest and she wandered a bit in her thoughts.

'It's been a while since I felt this way and laughed about these things, but I wonder if it's okay that I talk about this to someone who I met thrice? Then again I did talk about some personal things to Cherie on the second time we met and that's where we became friends. But if that's the case, does that mean Leorio is my friend? No, I doubt he wants to be friends with a mediocre Temp Hunter...I should stop thinking about it and finish telling my story.'

"The song was the Bubble Bubble Fizz candy jingle, you know the song that played after Chalk Shin-Kun show, the one that goes like this. Bubble bubble fizz, bubble bubble bubble bubble, bubble bubble fizz, pop it in your mouth~ Bubble bubble fizz, snap, crackle, and pop!"

"Bubble bubble fizz, the candy with the salty popping kick!" He chimed in and the two chuckled as they continued to walk.

Half as hour later, the skies of the town darkened a bit and the clear blue sky was mixed with a deep orange color and tints of pink. The two finally reached their destination and Leorio's eyes opened up a bit, he was in the small court yard of the Crocus Apartment, the same complex that he was currently living in. Cider sat herself on the building's stairs, placed Leorio's belongings beside her, and slipped off the pumps from her achy tired feet. Even though she was exhausted from all the walking, she was happy that she took up his offer and thankful that he told her about his exam story.

"So you live in the Crocus Apartment?" Leorio asked curiously.

"Yeah, I live in Room 75, that reminds me I need to give my new neighbor the house warming gift that I got from my trip. I just hope they're not to mad at me for screaming my lungs out which happened on the day of your training session." She answered nervously.

"Don't worry he's not mad." He said and walked over to his brief case.

"Really, does that mean you met my neighbor when I was away?"

"No, here catch." He answered and tossed a set of keys to Cider.

Few seconds later, Cider's eyes widened and realized that the set of keys that Leorio tossed her had the number, 76, on the key chain.

"You're my neighbor?!"


End file.
